Julius Johannpeter (1875-1961)

johannpeter-family

Julius “Uncle Jules” Johannpeter was born in St. Charles, MO on March 5, 1875 to recent German immigrants Frederick William Johannpeter and Johanna Johannpeter nee Grieve.  “Uncle Jules” was seven years older than his sister Caroline Leah “Lee” Johannpeter, my great grandmother. When Lee’s husband William Ellis died in 1917, Lee had the challenge of raising her two-year-old son Gilbert as a single

Share
» Read more

A Study in Scarlet (1933)

opening-credit-study-in-scarlet

Reginald Owen stars as Sherlock Holmes in one of the early American talking motion picture adaptations of Sherlock Holmes. A Study in Scarlet (1933) (affiliate link) sees Holmes trying to solve murders among a group of confederates. Arthur Wontner starred in several successful English adaptations of the series, which probably inspired Hollywood to follow suit. Unfortunately, Reginald Owen did not

Share
» Read more

Professor Yamashita Comes to America in 1902

professor-yamashita

Sam Hill, a Seattle businessman, brought Professor Yoshiaki Yamashita to the United States in 1902.  Professor Yamashita intended to help spread Dr. Jigoro Kano’s relatively new martial art of Judo.  Accompanying Professor Yamashita was his student Mitsuyo Maeda.  Maeda would go on to teach Carlos Gracie in Brazil.  The Gracies modified the techniques into the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Over

Share
» Read more

Hotel Sneak Thief Captured

chief-desmond-exploits

During the Gilded Age and for several decades after, St. Louis had the distinction of being the largest city west of the Mississippi River.  Pickpockets and thieves rode the rails to ply their illicit trade in the bustling metropolis.  On September 21, 1901, hotel employees overpowered a sneak thief, who attempted to burglarize a room in the plush Southern Hotel.

Share
» Read more

Ninth Officer Killed in 1920?

revised-1920-book-cover

Eight St. Louis Police Officers were killed in the line of duty during 1920.  I was shocked to find a newspaper article about a Ninth officer being killed.  The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is good about recording all their line of duty deaths.  When I found his Missouri Death Certificate, it cleared up the mystery. I came across the article in

Share
» Read more

The Black Raven (1943)

george-zucco-fog-island

Black Raven (1943) is a “B” film (affiliate link) from Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC). George Zucco plays Amos Bradford aka the Raven, the owner of the Black Raven Inn. Bradford ends up hosting several unexpected guests, who are escaping a raging thunderstorm. The storm washed out all the bridges and stranded the visitors, which include a couple trying to elope,

Share
» Read more
1 50 51 52 53 54 68